Speech to the Australian Academy of Science 70th Anniversary Gala Dinner

[E&OE]

Good evening.

Joining you here at the National Arboretum, surrounded by these gorgeous maturing forests, I am reminded that so much of what is notable, and beautiful, about Canberra has a branch of science as its source.

From the living knowledge systems of the region’s First Nations people…

… to the environmental ecology that preserves our precious wetlands and waterways …

… from the geometry that influenced Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin’s design …

… to the silhouette of the Mount Stromlo Observatory etched against the eastern sky …

... and the extraordinary science infrastructure that exists across the territory, including the astonishing biological collections at CSIRO, which I visited recently during National Science Week ...

Science has long influenced the shape and development of our nation’s capital.

Through its seven decades, the Australian Academy of Science has sat at Canberra’s heart – a nexus for scientific excellence and endeavour across the country.

In her essay on trust in science, Dr Cathy Foley writes: 

‘Scientific consensus does not mean the weight of popular opinion; it represents the weight of evidence … Shared understandings are a strong foundation on which public institutions can build trust …’

And, in the last of her Boyer Lectures, Professor Michelle Simmons says: 

‘as a physicist while I value truth intensely I also equally value doubt … . To be open to new truths … you also need room for doubt’.

It seems to me that these processes of reasoning, evidence, doubt, collaboration and consensus to arrive at the truth have a broader application than science.

– – – – –

Internationally, the Australian Electoral Commission is held in the highest regard.

And 9 out of 10 Australians say they trust the AEC.

But even the AEC is not impervious to the global trend of disinformation and diminishing faith in institutions of government designed to support democracy.

To counter a proliferation of conspiracy theories surrounding the electoral process, the AEC released the ‘Stop and consider’ campaign, asking voters to pause before accepting the truth of what they see, read or hear.

They might just have easily asked us to think like a scientist.

For science, this is a moment of opportunity.

As we strive to restore and maintain trust in the process and institutions of democracy …

            … as we witness contentious public debate operating increasingly outside a system of civility and respect …

… science has the potential to propose ways of thinking, and pathways to consensus through rational and respectful interactions between people.

And perhaps there is no more effective way for science to enact this influence than as a participant in the search for answers to our world’s most pressing problems.

Playing a role in fields as disparate as law and film-making, sport and demography, science improves outcomes, assures quality, and turns our gaze towards the horizon of what is possible.

The investiture ceremonies for recipients of Australian Honours and Awards taking place at Government House this week are an illustration of what can happen when disciplines collide …

… when a conservationist expresses his insights in poetry …

… or a veterinarian influences the shape of our national biosecurity program …

… or an epidemiologist applies their experience to the roll-out of a cancer prevention strategy.

The Academy has a longstanding record of interdisciplinary collaboration that draws together the diverse expertise of scientists, social scientists, industry and community.

Tonight, I want to encourage you, as our nation’s leading scientists and researchers, to carry on collaborating.

Continue to break down the walls between disciplines so that no sector is immune to the power of science to create shared understandings.

In preparing for this evening, I was delighted to discover that the founding president of your Academy, Sir Mark Oliphant, was born in 1901, the year of Federation, when Australia took its first steps to becoming the modern, optimistic democracy it is today.

I dwell on this connection because I believe that democracy is the golden thread that unites Australians across this vast continent and down the generations.

And, in the discipline of science, we find modes of thought and debate that are consistent with the preservation and progress of Australia’s democratic system.

For seventy years, the Australian Academy of Science has represented the pinnacle of scientific knowledge in this country.

Discovery and progress based on the weight of evidence and the potency of doubt to illuminate truth is a social good we cannot afford to ignore.

May the decades beyond this milestone anniversary bear witness to the power of science to contribute to the stability, security and prosperity of our nation.